Maraga taskforce on police transport

RentCo Africa, CFAO Motors and Co-operative Bank Hand over 40 Land Cruiser Vehicles to the National Police Service under Phase 7 of the Government Leasing Programme. [Courtesy, Co-op Bank]

Kenya’s police transport system has been identified as a critical weakness in the delivery of security services in the country.

The National Taskforce  on Improvement of Terms and Conditions of Service and Other Reforms for Members of the National Police Service, Kenya Prisons Service and National Youth Service, chaired by former Chief Justice David Maraga, examined the problem in detail in its 2023 report.

The report was submitted to President William Ruto in November 2023 and was made public by Maraga on Monday after giving the president an ultimatum of seven days to release it or he would a threat he made good.

Under road traffic policing, the taskforce found that the Traffic Police Unit had become associated with corruption, harassment and arbitrary arrests. Roadblocks, according to the report, were described by members of the public as corruption points where motorists were subjected to demands for bribes.

The taskforce identified allegations of vehicles being impounded to extract money from motorists, favouritism in the allocation of lucrative traffic postings and officers remaining in traffic assignments for unusually long periods because of the financial benefits associated with them.

The report raised concerns over conflicts of interest involving officers with businesses connected to the transport sector.

The taskforce recommended replacing the existing Traffic Police Unit with a leaner, better-trained Traffic Management Unit that would rely heavily on technology to detect traffic offences.

Proposing speed and surveillance cameras, automated traffic lights, number-plate recognition and electronic processing of offences, with fines made cashless to reduce opportunities for roadside bribery.

They also recommended abolishing routine police roadblocks all together and replacing them with mobile patrol units, requiring an amendment to Section 65 of the National Police Service Act.

Some of these ideas have since moved into the wider government push for technology-based traffic enforcement, including the use of speed cameras.

But questions remain over whether the old Traffic Police Unit has formally been abolished and whether static roadblocks have been fully replaced by mobile patrols.

The transport problem identified by the taskforce extends beyond traffic policing. Under police fleet management and logistics, the report found stations struggling with inadequate and poorly maintained vehicles.

 In some instances, officers were reportedly forced to use public transport to respond to security incidents, while there were cases where dead bodies were transported using vehicles also required for routine police operations.

The taskforce identified a mismatch between vehicles provided and the operational environments in which officers work. Officers in high-risk areas requiring specialised vehicles were not always adequately equipped.

Fuel allocation was another concern, with standard allocation of 450 litres per vehicle per month, regardless of the actual operational demands of individual stations, like the vastness of own jurisdictions.

Some vehicles were also required to obtain fuel from designated stations located far from their areas of operation.

To address this, the taskforce recommended decentralising fleet management to station level, reviewing fuel allocations according to operational needs and introducing digital systems to track vehicles, fuel consumption and movement.

It also called for the revival of police garages to maintain government-owned vehicles, proper disposal systems for unserviceable vehicles and a comprehensive strategy covering leased and government-owned fleets.

The recommendations extend to officer welfare, with the task force finding that drivers sometimes paid out of pocket for basic expenses such as puncture repairs and vehicle cleaning.

It recommended formalising such costs rather than leaving officers to finance operational requirements from their own pockets.

The release of the Maraga Taskforce report now comes against the backdrop of renewed questions over how police modernisation is being prioritised and financed.

The report was made public after former Chief Justice David Maraga’s seven-day ultimatum to President William Ruto expired without the full document being released by the government.

Its publication also comes days after the unveiling of new police uniforms triggered questions over a reported multi-billion-shilling procurement.

The National Police Service has since denied reports linking Nalitex Limited to the tender, saying the contract was awarded to Bedi Investments Limited through a lawful procurement process.

Taken together, the developments have once again put the spotlight on the broader question at the heart of the Maraga reforms, whether resources allocated to the National Police Service are translating into the equipment, mobility, welfare and working conditions officers need to effectively serve the public.

Nearly three years after the taskforce handed its recommendations to the President, the issue is therefore no longer simply what reforms were proposed, but which of them have been implemented, how much has been spent, and whether the spending is delivering the police service envisioned by the taskforce.